Alt/Indie News

Spanish govt slammed over bizarre Catalan .cat internet registry cop raid

"The Spanish government has come under increasing criticism for raiding the offices of the .cat internet registry in the lead-up to a referendum on Catalans' independence. On Wednesday morning, police entered the registry's headquarters in Barcelona and seized all of its computers. The cops also arrested six members of staff, and held four of them for two days. Its CTO has been accused of sedition. The raid and arrest has sparked protests from the .cat company, as well as the Internet Society and the EFF."

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Parody a police officer on Twitter, go to jail in America

"Something similar happened back in 2014, when police in Peoria, Illinois, arrested a man for impersonating the town's mayor on Twitter. The man (Jon Daniel) sued the city with the help of the ACLU and argued that the arrest violated his First Amendment rights. Ultimately, the city was forced to pay $125,000 to settle the case."

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In Indiana, sex with minors is OK, but it’s illegal to sext them

"The defendant, who faces a maximum of three years in prison if convicted, argued that it was 'patently illogical' to hold someone criminally liable for sending nude pictures to a minor—yet it's legal to expose themselves to minors in person. The Indiana ruling is among a string of cases in which sexting laws are clearly nonsensical."

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IMF Chief Suggests IMFCoin Cryptocurrency as Possibility

"IMF Director Christine Lagarde hinted at the development of a digital currency, similar to the bitcoin, for the organization's special drawing rights (SDR) mechanism to replace existing reserve currencies. The international finance organization has already begun exploring the possibility with an External Advisory Group discussion last December. Referring to a possible future situation along these lines, Lagarde said that the prospect of a digital currency as a replacement for reserve currencies that are part of the SDR was not 'a far-fetched hypothetical.'"

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The head of the IMF says bitcoin is ‘too expensive for me at the moment’

"Bitcoin is too expensive for one of the most powerful women in finance. Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, on Friday told CNBC's Sara Eisen that bitcoin is 'too expensive for me at the moment' when asked if she would ever buy into the red-hot digital currency. Lagarde last month gave a soft defense of the cryptocurrency during a speech in London. She said cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin could 'give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money.'"

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FBI Stops Publishing Data on America’s Ridiculous Marijuana Arrest Rates

"Though the numbers are missing from the FBI’s public 2016 report, Angell was able to obtain data from the agency by contacting them directly. Angell summarized: 'Marijuana possession busts comprised 37.36% of all reported drug arrests in the U.S. in 2016, and cannabis sales and manufacturing arrests accounted for another 4.18% of the total.'"

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FBI Concocting A Terrorist Threat Out of Racial Justice Groups

"If you are black and angry about police violence, you are a potential terror threat. Or so says a newly released FBI Intelligence Assessment that concocts a non-existent movement they dub 'Black Identity Extremists.' According to the assessment, 'premeditated, retaliatory lethal violence against law enforcement' has been spurred on by 'Black Identity Extremist (BIE) perceptions of police brutality against African Americans.' The problems with this report are manifold. First, and foremost, it places the blame for violence on actual concerns with police brutality and racial justice, thus delegitimizing dissent."

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Sheriff Indicted For Locking Down Entire School, Sexually Assaulting Kids

"Multiple students were subjected to invasive and outright horrifying body searches during a mass — and warrantless — search for drugs at a South Georgia high school. Attorney Mark Begnaud, who filed the class-action lawsuit, called out the sheriff for conducting '900 illegal, suspicionless searches.' To highlight the sheer unnecessary police state tactics of the tyrannical Worth County Sheriff Jeff Hobby and his deputies — not a single bit of contraband was found."

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